China News Service, Taiyuan, February 14th: Ma Biao, a first-line rescuer of the Turkish earthquake: But if there is a chance, I will do my best

  Chinanews reporter Lu Qiguo

  "I have to get on the bus quickly, and I have to carry out the joint rescue mission of the three countries in a while." At 20:17 on February 12, Beijing time (15:17 in Turkey time), Ma Biao hurriedly hung up the interview call of a reporter from Chinanews.com. Once again went to the front line of earthquake relief in Malatya, Turkey with the team.

  Ma Biao is from Xiaoyi City, Luliang, Shanxi Province.

Since he joined the Blue Sky Rescue Team of Xiaoyi City in 2013, he has participated in hundreds of rescues with the team, including large-scale rescue operations such as the Xingtai flood in Hebei and the Zhengzhou flood in Henan. He has experienced many battles and rich experience.

Ma Biao holds hydraulic steel shears and prepares for rescue operations.

Photo provided by the interviewee

  After the earthquake in Turkey, Mabia took the lead in signing up for the battle.

In the end, he was one of the two selected members of the Xiaoyi City Blue Sky Rescue Team.

  On February 7, Ma Biao had not yet communicated with his family when he received the notice to go to Turkey to carry out earthquake rescue.

"At that time, I was very conflicted. If I told them, they would worry about me; if I didn't tell them, I felt unreasonable."

  In the end, Ma Biao notified his family of the news of the expedition with the team.

Fortunately, although his family members are worried about his safety, they also support his decision.

Ma Biao cleaned up garbage on the top of a commercial and residential building, creating conditions for opening rescue channels.

Photo provided by the interviewee

  On February 8, Mabia flew to Istanbul, Turkey, and made a connecting flight to Malatya, which was hit hard, without leaving the airport.

  In Malatya, Ma Biao and his teammates faced many difficulties, including language communication, cold weather at night, long-distance detours due to impassable roads, and physical exhaustion caused by long-term searches.

  In a video recorded by Ma Biao during the rescue interval, it can be seen that late at night, he and a dozen teammates are still searching a residential building in Malatya.

"A father approached us saying his son might be trapped inside."

  The main structure of the five-storey residential building was severely damaged, the building leaned heavily, and all passages from downstairs to upstairs were interrupted.

If Ma Biao and his teammates wanted to enter the building for reconnaissance and place life detectors, they needed to borrow a local excavator to send them in through the window.

  "I am usually responsible for the construction of the rope system, and the task of installing the rope on the excavator bucket is entrusted to me." After a teammate entered the residential building to complete the reconnaissance work, Ma Biao entered the building and quickly placed the life detector .

  The search work does not seem complicated, but Mabia is always very nervous.

"If the rope is cut by broken glass or other sharp objects, the safety of teammates will be threatened." Therefore, during the search operation, Ma Biao kept watching each teammate, and used the walkie-talkie to remind everyone to avoid sharp objects from time to time.

  From February 11th to 13th, Ma Biao participated in the joint rescue operation of China, Turkey and Palestine with the team.

At around 18:00 on the 11th, Turkish time, the operation began, and everyone worked until the early morning of the 12th before returning to the temporary station for a short rest.

  The joint rescue team of the three countries searched for a residential area where many residents were buried due to the crushing collapse of residential buildings, making rescue extremely difficult.

  "The temperature at night is around -10°C, which is very cold, so we lit firewood on the edge of the ruins, and warmed up by the fire while the rescue was in progress." Ma Biao introduced that due to long-term continuous operations, the physical exhaustion was very high, and the team members sometimes stood still. I couldn't help it, so I could only sit on the ground and relax.

  On the 12th, with the arrival of a new batch of members of the Blue Sky Rescue Team, Ma Biao, who had an average rest time of only three or four hours a day before, finally had time to catch up on sleep.

  On the 11th, 1 victim was searched and rescued; on the 12th, 5 victims were searched and rescued; on the 13th, another victim was searched and rescued... As of 22:00 on February 13, the number of victims rescued by Ma Biao has reached 9.

  Over the past few days, Ma Biao's safety on the front line of earthquake rescue has always worried his family.

"After the rescue every day, I quickly send two words on WeChat: safe." He said that as long as the family sees these two words, they can rest in peace.

  "But if there is a chance, I will do my best." Ma Biao said that the earthquake rescue is really hard and tiring, but he and his teammates will try their best to do a good job in the rescue work as long as they are in Turkey for one day.

(over)